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Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Who Was Barnard? (NZ049165)

The town of Barnard Castle is, of
course, named after its, er, castle – but who, or what, was Barnard? Turns out
that the Barnard in question was actually a Bernard,
with historical origins stretching back to the time of the Norman Conquest.

Bernard Balliol (or, rather,
Bernard de Balliol I), was a twelfth century nobleman whose father, Renard, and
uncle, Guy de Balliol, had literally come over with the Conqueror during the
Norman invasion. As a reward for his military service in Normandy, Uncle Guy
was handed the Lordship of Gainford at the very end of the eleventh century,
and he set about building a wood and earthwork fortification on the site of the
later ‘Barnard Castle’. Then, when his
nephew, Bernard, succeeded him in the 1130s, the stronghold was rebuilt in
stone, like so many others the country over.

Bernard I died around 1150-60 and
was succeeded firstly by his son Guy, then almost immediately by a younger son,
another Bernard. And though the castle was much adapted over the succeeding
centuries, the work done by the two Bernards during 1130-1190 cemented
‘Bernard’s Castle’ as the name for the settlement which developed around the
stronghold. In time, this became ‘Barnard Castle’, which is what we’re stuck
with today.

I’m sure you don’t need me to
remind you that the Balliols had a colourful history, what with their
connections in Normandy, England and, of course, Scotland, where John Balliol
was king during 1292-96. John, in fact, was most probably born in Barnard
Castle around 1249. And the castle also had strong connections to the English
throne, being later owned by ‘Kingmaker’ Richard Neville and King Richard III.

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